Free Pattern: Little Swimmer Bathing Cap

What are the pool rules where you live? Do you (or your kids) have to wear a swimcap in the water? My daughter recently started swimming lessons at a nearby private pool (located in an apartment building in the Northwest Bronx) and everyone who enters the water must be wearing a swimcap.

It's kind of a pain though it makes sense; do you want to swim around with your neighbors' stray hairs? (Or see the pool shuttered when they have to clean the filter — again?).

But the spandex cap we bought her was too big, and the rubbery ones pulled at her hair. So what does a lady with some extra spandex and little pattern paper do? I drafted my own. And because it is so simple, I am sharing it here for free.  After the jump:

Kindersewing: Connect-the-dots Sewing Sheets

In a previous post about getting started on sewing with kids I told you that sewing paper is a great first step toward true self-directed sewing. Eliminate the thread and you don't have to worry about tangles and jammed bobbin casings. But sewing straight lines on ruled paper won't keep kids interested for long. Connect-the-dots, meanwhile, totally will. 

Following the dots is good practice for pivoting around corners, sewing curves, and lifting (and putting back down!) the presser foot. By the end of sewing all three of my printable sheets, you kid will be well on his or her way to stitching safely and consciously. 

It's actually harder than you might think. You have to go slowly, but the result is fun: as the needle punches holes in the paper while you sew, the secret picture is revealed:

 My daughter is almost six, and she loves this activity. It buys me a solid half-hour at my own sewing machine. Win-win!

It was hard to get her to guide fabric under the presser foot when she first started sewing on a machine. But look how she uses both hands with the paper:

Look Ma, no thread!

This activity is great practice and really fun. If your rookie sewer tries one of my sheets, please post a pic on Instagram or Twitter and @ me (sewyorkcity). I'd love to see it!

Click here to download the printable file 

And here

And the last one

(Why can't blogger attach a link to a picture? It's enough to make a lady want to move to Wordpress!)

Happy sewing!

How to: Make Your Own Brag Tags — With Free Printable AND GIVEAWAY!

Whether you go by Grandma, Nana, or even Mom, chances are your local craft store has ready-made tags you can use to guilt-trip the people for whom you sew:

But what if you're not a Mom or a Nana — and what if you didn't sew that costume out of love? (Duty calls sometimes, after all, and you deserve credit for every stitch you make while cursing your children/friend/self's last-minute whims).

Sewn-in labels are a way to give credit to yourself for a job well-done. You could have bought a new pair of shorts at Old Navy. But instead you spent a whole weekend wrestling a pattern into submission (and missed out on the sunny weather? Possibly. But this is your hobby, so roll with it):